The rainy roads were filled with mud. It wasn't that much of a problem for ninjas, but if a carriage carrying supplies had to travel at this time, it would become extremely troublesome.
A squad was rapidly advancing through the dense forest.
Leading the way was a middle-aged man wearing a Konoha headband and green combat vest.
Besides him, the entire squad was composed of ninja hounds, each about half the height of a person. These hounds were all sturdy, with fierce appearances, each carrying a huge package on their backs.
The squad stopped at a fork in the road. The black ninja hound leading the pack lowered its head and sniffed a few times, then said in human language, "Rainy days are really annoying."
The heavy rain had washed away all the scents, making it feel uneasy.
Inuzuka Tsume looked back at the entire hound squad, then found a hidden mark left by his troop on a tree at the fork.
He said, "Bubumaru, just a little further and we'll be there. Everyone is waiting for us to deliver the supplies."
Hearing this, Bubumaru barked a few times at the ninja hounds behind him and then said, "Let's go."
Ninja hounds were not known for their endurance. The long trek had already made them very tired.
The squad set off again. Tsume moved through the high branches of the trees. The air was filled with a mixture of scents, mostly mud, dead branches, and flowers. He could only maintain a wide range to vision scout.
The surrounding scenery flew past. Suddenly, Bubumaru, leading the way below, stepped into a trap.
The ground, covered with rainwater and fallen leaves, instantly opened up into a large net.
Bubumaru reacted quickly and dodged in time, but his companion behind him wasn't so lucky. The net contracted, instantly hoisting the unfortunate hound into the air.
Tsume was shocked. He flung a kunai, cutting the net open.
The ninja hound squad stopped instantly, gathering together, vigilantly surveying their surroundings.
They tried their best to sniff out any scents in the air, but unfortunately, they still couldn't detect anything unusual.
Tsume didn't go down to the ground, but remained on the tree branch, surveying the surroundings.
Only faint rustling sounds could be heard from the bushes, but the enemy never showed themselves.
Finally, a terrified scream rang out.
A man dressed as an Iwa-nin rushed out from the bushes in a panic. Before Tsume and the ninja hounds could react, another figure followed closely behind, wielding a sharp blade. In a flash, the figure flew past, slitting the Iwa-nin's throat on the spot.
Tsume saw the person's face clearly. It was a white-haired boy wearing a mask, holding a standard short knife in his hand, stained with blood that was quickly washed away by the rain.
He jumped down from the tree branch and came to Bubumaru's side.
"Isn't that the child genius?" Bubumaru said.
White Fang's son, genius Jonin, student of the Yellow Flash, the outsider with the Sharingan... Kakashi carried various titles and enjoyed extremely high fame both on the front lines and in the village.
He was known by everyone.
Tsume didn't respond to this, but instead spoke to Kakashi, "These Iwa-nin are like they have a third eye, even knowing our route. They're like haunting ghosts."
At this moment, a blond man appeared in a flash, holding a kunai in his hand.
Tsume knew at a glance that the Iwa-nin squad that had ambushed them in the darkness had been eliminated by this person.
"Lord Minato," Tsume immediately greeted him respectfully with a bow.
Minato said, "A large number of Iwa-nin have infiltrated our Land. Many places are unsafe now."
Tsume sighed, "The war is getting more and more out of hand."
Minato looked at the entire ninja hound squad and said, "You've all worked hard."
Tsume shook his head and said, "For the village, there's no such thing as hard work. If it weren't for you coming to meet us, this trip would have been even more dangerous."
Kakashi, standing to the side, took out some snacks from somewhere and fed them to a ninja hound.
He wasn't afraid of these ferocious-looking dogs but was rather close to them.
He said in a flat tone, "Rainy days greatly affect a ninja hound's sense of smell. You shouldn't be traveling at this time."
"Woof!" Bubumaru didn't speak in human language but barked instead.
Tsume understood the meaning; 'It was saying that Kakashi's tone was very unpleasant.'
He just smiled faintly and said, "Kakashi is right."
Minato then said, "Supplies are of utmost importance. Tsume was also afraid of delaying, so he took the risk to make this trip."
"Thank you for your understanding, Lord Minato."
"Let's go quickly. Many wounded are waiting for us. Kakashi, you deal with the bodies and then catch up."
"Yes."
Minato, Tsume, and the entire ninja hound squad left first, leaving Kakashi alone to clean up the battlefield.
He moved all the bodies to an open space, briefly searched them, replenished his own ninja tools, and then found a flare gun and three flares of different colors.
Kakashi looked at the flare gun thoughtfully. Having a flare gun meant that there were Iwa-nin still lurking somewhere nearby!
Minato and Tsume weren't far from their camp. Seeing that the end of the dense forest was approaching, a bad premonition suddenly arose in Minato's heart.
He couldn't help but speed up. Seeing this, Tsume couldn't help but ask, "Lord Minato?"
"Tsume!" Bubumaru suddenly spoke up to remind him.
Only then did Tsume discover that there were traces of battle in the surrounding forest.
The man and his ninja hounds finally reached the outskirts of the camp and found Minato standing motionless at the edge of the forest.
The scene before him made Tsume's eyes widen.
The earth was cracked, blood flowed like a river, and there were dismembered limbs and corpses everywhere!
Everywhere were traces of destruction caused by ninjutsu, and the terrain had been altered by large-scale Earth Release.
Tsume's heart was shaken, followed by endless grief and indignation.
"Lord Minato." He turned his head and saw Minato standing there expressionless and silent.
He had only been gone for a little over half an hour, and such a massacre had occurred here. This meant that the enemy knew he had left and deliberately launched the attack.
'There was another traitor…'
Konoha had already suffered countless setbacks because of this.
Even if they didn't take the initiative to attack, the enemy always seemed to know their every move.
Minato really couldn't figure out which of his comrades, who had shared life and death with him, was the traitor.
The rain was still falling, drenching them both.
"These damned Iwa-nin!" Tsume slammed his fist against a nearby tree trunk.
At this time, a ninja hound barked.
Bubumaru ran over and found a mark left by a Konoha ninja on the tree trunk.
"It's a signal to retreat," it said.
"It seems they managed to retreat in time," Tsume said with a sigh of relief.
Indeed, they could've retreated, but how many them would be able to survive…
This was a medical camp. This battle was probably a one-sided slaughter.
Minato looked up, took a deep breath, and said without any discernible emotion, "We should evacuate to the nearest camp. Let's go, meet up with Kakashi first, and then I'll escort you there."
this'll be all for today, Have a great day/night! and don't forget to donate some powerstones!
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